Adit wrote:Bale is missed so badly lol .. Need actual Wenger's.. Not poachers and ams on wing.

please no

We lost this game by the way we started it. By the time we got the goal it was too late. Still cant believe how we always manage to miss easy chances
Danilo pack your bags and go to Barca please. Awful excuse of a footballer. Also Zidane took James out just when he started playing good what was that all about

sigh...

This is why I don't believe the bs Sports talked about re: Bielsa's and Pep's philosophy. No way either was starting Danilo, who literally was the cause of Betis being able to create their only chance of the game. As soon as Dani comes on, Madrid actually looked balanced.

Easy 3 points turned into a hard earned draw. And yes, Betis, as much as I respect that club, defended nor attacked good whole match. Modric and Isco had a handle on the midfield.

Ronaldo was poor too. Not in the sense he was selfish but the half chances he gets, he needs to either bury them or test the keeper and provided none of that. For that, he gets my poor rating.

Other than that, the football was good as soon as Dani came on. Literally. Everything just looked better. Someone, namely Sports, please tell Zidane next time, do the right f-ing thing.

Well they came out pressing like crazy and Danilo cracked.... they got 1 goal on 4 shots. After that, we had complete control but couldn't finish. If Bale we there instead of James, we put one of those chances away. In any case, we played well and were unlucky.

Carvajal makes a world of difference. We had not attack on the right with Danilo and suddenly got one when Carvajal went in.

It's a rock and a hard place with rotation though... you have to do it but since we gave up so many points to start the season, i don't know if we can afford it. But then again, it's chance we need to take because we'll fade at the end of the season if we don't.

That's why throwing points away early in the season comes back to haunt you.

His subs are very, very questionable and borderline nonsensical. And this is not the first time he doesn't get his subs right.

Also, aside from subbing out James where he started to play well, why did he play Danilo in the first place? Jesus!

Why rotate when we are playing once a week for the majority of January? More importantly, as a manager, he could clearly see Danilo provides and causes a major imbalance. I, an average football tactician, could see that. Nah, Zizou should have done the right thing and not the political thing.

Well Doc, what can you do?  Carvajal just came back from injury 15 days ago and is playing 90 mins a game since.  You can't just roll the dice there.  Same with the other guys... you need to rotate.  Otherwise we do our patented end of March fade.

Also, if an injury happens (like Bale), nobody is ready if you don't. You need to have some guys prepared to step in.

The extreme high line by our CBs and the pressing is textbook Bielsa btw.  It was nice to see.

guest7 wrote:I think CR is fine I just wish we had someone like Zlatan instead of Benz, he just fits the team much better. There is a reason Pep liked Zlatan cuz he is hard to steal the ball from.

Kroos is our weakest player somebody was sleeping when he decided to buy a german player

What political? Nobody told him to play Danilo. He did it because he had one of those Pep-esque epiphanies. Carvajal played like a god in the last two games and he benched him for a an amateur footballer who can't even cross.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:His subs are very, very questionable and borderline nonsensical. And this is not the first time he doesn't get his subs right.

Also, aside from subbing out James where he started to play well, why did he play Danilo in the first place? Jesus!

James was gassed... he was wobbling for 3-4 mins and had to go out.  He hasn't played 90 mins since i can't even remember lol.

Betis bullied our midfield with intensity until late in the second when they just played turtle and tried to protect their result.

Reminds me of that juventus game late last season. Our midfield is weak as fck, and i mean that in the physical sense, we dont win any challenges, we dont win any 50/50 balls, and we can hardly win the ball back with urgency.

wooooooosh

Modric and isco were absolutely fantastic. Too bad we had no dm to support them.

The game was ultimately lost because of Ronaldo and Danillo imo.

Kroos at DM

What the heck is this talk about Zlatan replacing Benz? Whattttt?

This game just proved James is out of it and Krois, once again, can't play DM.

Another week and Madrid madriding in am away game.

Like i said, we're still paying from Rafa's issues and will have to just carry it. Namely:
- Lost too many points early so we need to be quasi-perfect now
- Need to rotate to avoid injuries/burn out and also to get some guys sharp in case we need them (injury or late in game). Until they get sharp, we'll suffer.
- Some guys haven't played 90 mins in forever so you need to build them up to it. So you're going to get some early subs there unfortunately.
- A bit of tactical hesitancy by the players since they're playing a new style and it hasn't been battle-tested. So in the face of adversity, you're figuring out what to do in late Jan instead of preseason/Sept. Just how it is.

Man, I get you Sport but at the same time once a week football probably is the best thing for Dani at this point if it is match fitness and body being adjusted back. And yes, the high back line was nice and the football in general was pretty good...............................as soon as Dani came on. It's almost incredible and weird to see a right back make such a major difference.

Zidane needed the 3 points, Madrid needed the 3 points and his selection backfired hard. Not the first manager to do it, not the last but it is still ridiculous frustrating.

Also, was nice to Joaquin still playing. Thank goodness he lost all his pace, Betis would have definitely won that match if he were a bit younger.

How bad is Ronaldo though.... Offers absolutely nothing.

meh could've easily won this game just bad luck today, but that kroos pass behind benz was .

Talking points

1. Why did zidane play danilo in the first place?

2. Maybe just maybe perez forced zizou to play danilo?

3. Why did zizou sub james at the time he did?

marcelo was shat btw seemed more interested in getting cr a goal, than playing the simple passes that are on.

Your excuses are ridiculous. Betis are in a horrendous form, you can't just drop points against a team like that.

Rotation? Carvajal has just played two games since he got back from injury, he's as fresh as a Greek demigod. Besides, you don't rotate when your second choice is a walking disaster.

His subs don't make any sense. If he really wanted to keep Carvajal sharp, why did he sub him on when he realized that he screwed up with Danilo? No seriously.

And the hesitation? I didn't see any apparent hesitation last week or the week before. Besides, this is not an elite team that you need to be in tip-top condition to beat, this is freaking Betis.

No seriously there are no excuses for this. We played very bad, and even if we had won, I'd have still voiced my discontent.

I agree with sports about Carvajal. He recently returned from Injury and you wouldn't want a relapse on his injury. Playing Danilo makes sense for that, but Danilo just can't play well.

First point
Could be for squad rotation or to make Danilo still feel wanted. He technically is still part of the team. Either or, was a bad decision that was paid by dropped points.

Second point
I doubt that very much. In fact, I am pretty sure that never happened.

Third point
James looked beat. He was having a up and down game, mostly down but he really kept trying. At the end, he ran himself down. The sub made sense in that instance.

Adit wrote:How bad is Ronaldo though.... Offers absolutely nothing.

I think he should be in one of those commercials "Make millions while doing relatively nothing".

the team didn't play that bad, just conceded a great goal and fail to put away our chances, i get it everybody loves dani and hates danilo, no need to start exaggerating....